Miracle baby girl born with microcephaly defies the odds to survive after series of infections destroys HALF her brain
SHORTLY after her birth last year, little Isabel Dunning’s parents were told to prepare to say goodbye to her.
Adorable Isabel was critically ill after being born at just 25 weeks with a host of devastating problems.
She had microcephaly – an undersized head which in some cases has been linked to the Zika virus – and suffered a series of infections that caused seizures that destroyed more than half her brain.
But now, brave Isabel is 10 months old – and back at home in West Moors, Dorset.
And her proud parents, former businesswoman Shelley Colclough, 26, and heating engineer Andrew Dunning, 31, describe her as their ‘miracle.’
Despite needing constant monitoring as she has to be tube-fed for 18 hours a day, Isabel is happy and loved by her family, including big sister Chloe, now six.
Shelley said: “I found it so hard because I know life isn’t going to be normal for Isabel but she is our miracle.
“We always believed she is a fighter and every day with her is a blessing.”
When Isabel was born on May 11, 2016 at Southampton General Hospital her terrified parents, feared she wouldn’t survive as she weighed just 1lb 13oz – less than a bag of sugar.
But she has, despite losing over 50 per cent of her already tiny brain due to seizures, operations and a battle with infections including necrotising enterocolitis – inflammation of the bowel - and septicaemia.
Shelley added: “It was heart-breaking watching her just having problem after problem and we could see that each thing was taking another little bit of her.”
Shelley, who gave up her cleaning business to become Isabel’s full time career, told how her baby girl arrived three months early, following a straightforward pregnancy.
She was enjoying a joint birthday night out with Andrew when she started to bleed.
At just 22 weeks pregnant, they were terrified they were losing the baby so immediately abandoned their night out and rushed to Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital in Bournemouth.
They said they had sat down and had a meeting and they wanted to stop life support because she wasn’t getting better. We were preparing to say goodbye.
Shelley Colclough, 26
A scan showed that Isabel was fine but Shelley continued to bleed and over the days that followed, further scans showed she had lost all the amniotic fluid around her baby.
Doctors recommended she be moved to the bigger Southampton General Hospital to be monitored as they feared she would go into labour at any point.
Then, at 25 weeks, her contractions started and, after just two hours, Isabel arrived.
She was immediately rushed to neonatal intensive care and placed on a ventilator to try to keep her alive.
Shelley recalled: “I’d had such a straightforward pregnancy up until that point but then I just started bleeding and we knew something was wrong.
“It was five hours after she was born before we even got to see her.
“There was so much going on. She was under the blue lamp for jaundice and had so many tubes coming out of her.
"She was just so tiny lying there.”
Isabel continued to fight and at three weeks old, she was moved to Poole Hospital – but then she suddenly went downhill.
She was diagnosed with necrotising enterocolitis, a condition where the intestine becomes inflamed and starts to die, and she needed urgent surgery to have 60cm of it removed.
Her tiny body was operated on for six hours under general anaesthetic.
Shelley continued: “The surgeon told us that it would be a miracle if she survived the operation.
“She was in surgery for six hours and she did survive but her heart rate was 220.
“It should be between 80 and 160 beats per minute.
"Her blood pressure was low and was not stable.
We had waited so long for that moment but it’s not like bringing a normal baby home. Every little thing that had happened had destroyed more and more of her brain.
Shelley Colclough, 26
“They said the next 48 hours were crucial. We had to take it hour by hour.”
Further tests showed that she had been born with a number of conditions including cerebral palsy, microcephaly - where a baby is born with a significantly smaller head - and had developed short bowel syndrome because of the infections.
She also suffered from seizures as her tiny body tried to resist the infections.
Shelley said: “After the surgery, she was getting worse.
“They said they had sat down and had a meeting and they wanted to stop life support because she wasn’t getting better. We were preparing to say goodbye.
“Our family came into see her and we got her blessed. We had a private room so we would have space to say goodbye at any point.”
But miraculously, Isabel improved a little every day and was able to slowly come off the machines keeping her alive.
Finally, at five-and-a-half months old, she was able to go home for the first time where Shelley now stays by her side 24 hours a day.
Sadly, Isabel’s battle to survive meant that half her brain was destroyed and she is severely disabled.
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Shelley said: “It was an amazing moment bringing her home but it was so scary.
“We had waited so long for that moment but it’s not like bringing a normal baby home.
“Every little thing that had happened had destroyed more and more of her brain.
“It was really tough but I am more used to what to do now. It is still hard because I can’t put her down and watch her play like I could with a normal baby.
“She is fed with a pump for 18 hours a day. I have to be with her all the time because she vomits up to 15 times a day and the food can go into her lungs.
“I only sleep for about three hours at night because I am always by her side.
“Andrew does take over at the weekend and that is my only time to catch up on sleep.”
“It’s not really safe for me to drive with her because if she starts vomiting and I am driving, I won’t be able to help.”
The family hope that she will have a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube inserted through the abdominal wall and directly into the stomach, which will lower the risk of her choking.
Andrew is now planning a skydive on April 17 to raise money for Isabel’s future and the family are planning a family fundraising day in August this year.
Shelley added: “I have come to terms with how our lives are going to be. Isabel is going to need help for the rest of her life, but anything that she does do is a blessing for us. I just want to give her the best.”
The family hope that the money raised will help to buy sensory toys, a specialist bath and toy set and any other treatment that may help her in the future.
To donate visit their
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